Research & Expertise news at HSE University

Cooperation with Chinese partners in all spheres of the economy is reaching a new qualitative level. At the same time, Russian entrepreneurs often lack knowledge about the specifics of doing business with China. Ways to solve this problem and strengthen the bilateral partnership were discussed at the ‘Russia—China: Business in a Multipolar World’ forum held at HSE University.

According to HSE and MGIMO economists, increased financial sector risks in developed countries may be associated with a higher carbon footprint in banks' loan portfolios. This is likely due to the fact that in response to an unstable economic situation, banks tend to issue more loans to companies that have a detrimental impact on the environment. Although this might yield short-term profits for the banks, such trends hinder humanity's progress towards achieving a green economy. The paper has been published in Environmental Science and Pollution Research.

On October 7, a ‘People and Society’ thematic platform opened at HSE University’s Cultural Centre as part of the NAUKA 0+ science festival. Guests were able to explore the world of scientific discoveries and interesting experiments, as well as listen to a series of lectures from leading HSE experts.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2023 to Claudia Goldin (Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA), ‘for having advanced our understanding of women’s labour market outcomes.’ According to the Nobel committee, Professor Goldin has uncovered key factors that determine gender differences in the labour market.

Cognitive dissonance is a complex and multifaceted psychological phenomenon that arises in challenging decision-making scenarios. Multiple regions of the brain participate in its occurrence, yet the neurodynamics of underlying cognitive mechanisms remain a subject of debate. Researchers from the HSE Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience have proposed the use of online transcranial magnetic stimulation applied to participants as they were actively engaged in tasks, to pinpoint the moment of cognitive dissonance resolution. Their findings have been published in a review paper in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.

A group of specialists from the HSE Institute for Cultural Studies, Vitaly Kurennoy, Alexander Suvalko and Maria Figura, have determined two main trends that are actively shaping the image of the creative economy and culture in 2021-2023: the creator economy and the maker economy.

A university education is a highly sought-after commodity in Russia, yet the quality of universities and their programmes varies significantly. This gives rise to risks of inequality, both in the realm of education and in the labour market, and subsequently impacts the returns on higher education, which are manifested in the salaries earned by graduates. According to a study by Ilya Prakhov, Assistant Professor of the HSE Faculty of Economic Sciences, graduates from Russia’s top-tier universities enjoy a distinct advantage. The paper has been published in the International Journal of Educational Development.

Today, we can make a telephone call to anyone, anywhere in the world—but this was not always the case. In this series of columns on IQ.HSE, Anton Basov, HSE Faculty of Computer Science editor, discusses how telephones have become an integral part of our everyday life. The third episode focuses on the evolution of telephone connections, the first subscribers, and the history of the telephone directory.